


What could come between us

by ihadnotyetlived



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Angst, Canon Era, F/M, Hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-04-26 08:29:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14398218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ihadnotyetlived/pseuds/ihadnotyetlived
Summary: Different one shots put together to form a story to dig deeper into Katherine's life and feelings





	1. Katherine

Part I- The Bottom Line

 

Katherine plopped down in the red cushy seats of her father's office, defeated. Her father wasn’t even trying to hear her explanation and she figured it would be best to stop trying. There were quite a few men crowded in his office and Katherine had to laugh at the fact that her father kept her in here to listen. She had a keen reporters ear and it was unlikely that she would forget a single word that was said in this meeting. So far her father was attempting (and failing) to get the rally cancelled.  
“I read your editorials Mr. Pulitzer.” The Mayor spoke up. “How can you express so much sympathy for the trolley workers and none for the Newsies?” It was a fair question, Katherine had to admit.  
“Because the Trolley workers are striking for a fair contract. The Newsies are striking against, me.” Katherine bit her tongue. It was times like this she was reminded of how much she truly despised her father.  
“Well I’d spare you the embarrassment if I could. But that place is private property.”  
“He can’t order a legal raid without cause.” The second man said matter of factly.  
Her father got that look in his eye, the one where he knew that he was about to win whatever argument came up next. “Mr. Mayor would the fact that this rally is organized by an escaped convict, be cause enough to shut it down?” Escaped convict? Katherine pushed herself up from the slouched position she had assumed. She sucked in a breath, feeling her heart rate speed up.  
“An escaped convict?” He asked incredulously.  
“A fugitive of one of your own institutions.” Her father responded. “A convicted thief at large wreaking mischief on our law abiding community.” He strode over to his desk to a very pudgy and rather ugly man, dropping the paper on the desk. “Mr. Snyder which one is it?”  
The man “Snyder” hardly took a second to look at the paper before pointing out a face and saying a name she had hoped not to hear. “That one there. Mr. Jack Kelly.” He spat out Jacks name as if it were poison.  
“And how do you know this boy?” The mayor asked.  
“His is not a pleasant story.” Snyder responded, no expression on his face. “He was first sentenced to my Refuge for loitering and vagrancy.” The Refuge? Katherine furrowed her brow beginning to connect the dots. “But,” Snyder continued, “his total disregard for authority made him a frequent visitor.”  
“You called him a thief! An escaped convict!” The Mayor accused.  
Snyder tried to defend himself. “After his release I caught him myself.” Katherine sucked in a breath knowing what happened to kids who were caught by Snyder himself. She’d seen it happen to Crutchie and it made her heart ache knowing Jack suffered so. “Red handed!” Snyder exclaimed. “Trafficking stolen food and clothing.” Katherine had to resist the urge not to roll her eyes. It wasn’t as if he was stealing gold watches. He stole food and clothing because he was poor and hungry! “He was last sentenced to 6 months but the ruffian escaped!”  
Katherine pressed her fingers to her temples trying to sort out the information she’d been given. The room went quiet for a moment as the Mayor thought about his decision.  
“So you’d be doing the city a favor by taking this criminal off our streets.” Katherine shook her head. Her father was unbelievable.  
“If that's the case,” the Mayor said putting emphasis on the if. “We can take him in. Quietly.”  
Katherine saw the flash of anger in her father's eyes before he slammed his hands down on his desk. The noise made her flinch violently. “What good would quiet do me?!” Pulitzer nearly yelled. There was silence after the explosion and that scared Katherine the most. It reminded her of her talks with her father growing up and she didn’t particularly like those memories. Finally he continued, “I want a public example made of him.” Katherine’s heart rate increased once again. What did that mean?  
Before anyone could get a chance to respond Pulitzers secretary Hannah came scurrying in. Katherine quite liked her. She was witty and unafraid to speak her mind. The two were quite alike. “Mr. Pulitzer,” she said out of breath, “The boy, Jack Kelly, is here!” At those words Katherine stood unable to stop the smile spreading to her face despite everything.  
“Here?” Her father asked  
“Just outside! He’s asked to see you.” The men looked at each other in shock.  
“Ask, and he shall be received,” Her father laughed. “Mr. Snyder if you please.” He motioned for Snyder to go hide and Snyder seemed way too excited in Katherines opinion. Katherine took a step forward ready for his presence to warm the room a little.  
She should’ve known that her father had the same keen reporters eye and ear and didn’t miss the way her eyes lit up when his name was said or the slight blush that filled her cheeks when she thought about being in the same room as him. He didn’t even miss the straightening of her dress, her widening smile and the wringing of her hands in excitement. Her smile however quickly faltered when her father stood over her. She looked away, anywhere but his cold, unforgiving eyes. “Sit.” He ordered, and she obeyed.  
Her father brushed past her and turned the seat that she was sitting in around, facing away from the room. Katherine was shocked but she didn’t dare protest.  
“Mr. Jack Kelly.” Hannah introduced him.  
“Ah! Good afternoon boys.” Katherine shook her head. That was just like him. He gave an impressed whistle he looked around the office (she assumed).  
“And which Jack Kelly is this?” Her father asked. “Charismatic union organizer or the petty thief and escaped convict?”  
“Which one gives us more in common?” Jack asked playfully. Katherine felt herself blush and smile at that. Her father wasn’t amused.  
“Impetuses in bad taste when crawling for mercy.” He noted.  
Jack laughed at that. “Crawling?” He asked. “That’s a laugh! Nah I just stopped by with a invite. It seems a few hundred of your employees are rallying! To discuss some-uh-recent disagreements. Now I thought it only fair to invite you to state your case directly to the fellas. Ah! So what do you say Joe? So what if I save you a spot on the bill?” Katherine heard the laugh in his voice and let herself smile.  
“You are as shameless and disrespectful a creature as I was told.” At the word “creature” Katherine gritted her teeth. “You know what I was doing when I was your age boy?” Her father asked coldly implying that he was going to tell him whether he wanted to hear it or not. “I was fighting in a war.” Katherine rolled her eyes. She had heard this many times before. Her father loved having a chance to brag.  
“Oh yeah how’d that turn out for you?” Jack asked unimpressed.  
“It taught me a lesson that shaped my life. You don’t win a war on the battlefield. It’s the headline that crowns the victor.”  
“Well I will keep that in mind when New York wakes up to front page photos of our rally.” Jack proudly stated.  
“Ah rally till the cows come home! Not a paper in town will publish your word. And if it's not in the papers...it never happened.” She could hear the pride oozing out of her father's voice.  
Jacks voice became serious. “You may run this city, but there are some of us who cannot be bullied. Even some reporters.” Oh no.  
“Such as that young woman who made you yesterday’s news? Hm.” Oh no. “Talented girl.” She could hear the resentment in her father’s voice in that statement. “And beautiful as well don’t you think?” Either this was a ploy to get Jack to confess his feelings or to pride himself in his own good looks.  
“Yeah, I’ll tell her you said so,” Jack scoffed. Oh no.  
“Oh no need. She can hear for herself.” Oh no. “Can’t you dearest?” She cringed at the endearing pet name her father only used for her when he wanted something as she stood. Oh no. “I trust you know my daughter. Katherine.” Oh no. This was not how she thought him meeting her parents would go. She turned to look at his face. The look of sheer disappointment and betrayal was enough to make her heart break.  
“Yes,” Pulitzer sang. “My daughter. You’re probably wondering why the ‘nom de plume’? Why doesn’t my daughter work for me?” Jack stepped closer to her the look on his face growing angrier and angrier by the second. Eventually she had to look away. “Good questions. I offered Katherine a life of wealth and leisure.” Katherine shuddered at those words remembering the so called life her father described. “Instead she chose to pursue a career. And she was show real promise until,” he slammed his hand on the table making her flinch again, and referred to the article she had so proudly written, “This recent lapse. But you’re finished with all that now, aren’t you sweetheart.”  
She hated the way his voice sounded. Like he was the crowned victor when really, he was just a big bully. Katherine shook her head and for the first time since she entered the room, she spoke. “Jack I-I didn’t mean-” He held his hand out silencing her, his heartbreak displayed on his face. Had she done that?  
“Don’t trouble the boy with your problems, dearest.” Katherine’s eyes filled with tears but she blinked them away. “Mr. Kelly has a plate full of his own. Wouldn’t you say so, Mr. Snyder?”  
Snyder came out of hiding and Katherine swore she saw an animalistic glint in his eye. “Hello Jack.” In that moment, Katherine understood everything she needed to understand about the Refuge. She saw in Jacks eyes that he wasn’t running because he didn’t want to be caught, he was running because he was so afraid. She didn’t know what exactly he had to endure but she knew for certain that it was an encounter that scarred him forever. Jack turned to run but was stopped by the Delancy’s (when did they get there?). He struggled with them and Katherine watched, helplessly.  
“Does anyone else feel a noose tightening?” Her father laughed and Katherine shot him a glance that could curdle dairy. Jack was violently shoved forward and he looked around like a hopeless wild animal, cornered by predators. “But allow me to offer an alternate scenario. You attend this rally and you speak against this hopeless strike.” How did he know it was hopeless? “And I’ll see your criminal record expunged.” Katherine knew that Jack would consider this option if the Refuge had scarred him so much. She frowned trying to make sense of everything in her head, or write it out as a news story. She thought this was the end of the deal but her father kept talking. “And your pockets filled with enough cash to carry you in a first class train compartment from New York,” he stopped with a pointed look at Katherine causing the others to follow suit. “To New Mexico and beyond. You did say he wanted to travel West, didn’t you?” The question seemed so innocent, but the innocent facade did little to hide the malice behind the question. Katherine's eyes filled with more tears as she shook her head and covered her mouth before crossing her arms protectively in front of her.  
Katherine looked up at Jack whose face was curled in an expression she had never seen before, and it frightened her. “There ain’t a person in this room who don’t know you stink.” For the first time, Jack didn’t have any kind of funny comeback when faced with the wrath of her father. She and him really were similar.  
“And if they know me,” her father said standing. “They know I don’t care.” This was true. Her father had always been the kind to act on his own self wishes regardless of how he hurt people along the way. Katherine was glad that she didn’t inherit that. “Mark my words boy,” he spat. “Defy me and I’ll have you and every one of your friends locked up in the Refuge.” Katherine put her face in her hands and Jack opened his mouth to protest but Pulitzer talked over him. “Now I know that you are Mr. Tough Guy!” He teased as if this were a funny situation. “But it’s not right to condemn that little crippled boy to conditions like that.” His voice dripped with mock pity. “And what about your pal uh-”  
“Davey.” Snyder Growled. Katherine wondered why and how he had gotten all this information.  
“Davey! And his baby brother! Ripped from their loving family,” He let that hang in the air, “and tossed to rats! Tsk, tsk tsk. Will they ever be able to thank you enough?” He smiled, pleased with himself. “Time’s running out Jack, what is your answer? Remember, cowboy or convict I win either way.” He laughed, a sound Katherine had grown to hate over the years. “Your abject surrender was always the bottom line!” He declared. Katherine figured that whatever this meeting was was over. And her father’s next words made her wish it wasn’t.  
“Gentlemen,” he gestured to the Delancy’s, “Escort our guest to the cellar so he may reflect in solitude.” The Delancy's stepped forward, happy to inflict some form of violence onto someone else. Jack didn’t even fight, he just glared right through her father. As Jack was pulled away, Katherine immediately began to follow not really sure of what she was attempting. She was pushed off rather violently by the Delancy’s. She decided it wasn’t worth it and stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading to a long alleyway which would then lead to the cellar. Her father moved past her and as he did, grabbed her arm tight-a little too tight-and pulled her away from the stairs. He swiftly moved up the stairs and stopped at the top to give Katherine a triumphant look. He then closed and bolted the door behind him leaving Katherine alone rubbing her arm where she was sure a mark would be left. Great, she thought. Adding more to the collection. Unsure of what to do, she collapsed onto the floor and sobbed as her heart broke over Jack Kelly.


	2. The Bottom Line Reprise (Pulitzer )

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had won, and he knew it. The boy knew it too. The only person in this room stupid enough to not believe that he had won and the fight was over was no other than his daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make it through Katherine, Pulitzer and Jacks POV. Anyways, enjoy, leave Kudos and comment!

He chuckled darkly as he watched the boy escorted out of his office. He had won, and he knew it. The boy knew it too. The only person in this room stupid enough to not believe that he had won and the fight was over was no other than his daughter. She had been so careless lately, so Joe took extra care to send people out after her to watch what she was doing. Of course, as he suspected she was hanging around those ratty Newsboys. It only got worse for him when he read the article she wrote. He then realized that the stakes were high. He knew his daughters talent, and he knew people would listen to what she had to say no matter if she was a girl.  
It was then he decided to take matters into his own hands. He knew his daughter got attached quickly, and those Newsboys were no exception. He wasn’t too worried about keeping her away from them until Warden Snyder mentioned the boy, Jack Kelly. He didn’t miss the way his daughters face lit up and how she bit her lip in anticipation. It was then and there he knew he had to do something. It turns out that something was breaking whatever week old trust had built between the two. It worked easily. Katherine was crushed and the boy wouldn’t hear a word from her. After all, Jack had bigger problems than Katherine’s girly feelings.  
He had to admit, maybe the refuge was too large of a punishment. But then again he didn’t really care. His daughter had tried to be discreet and closed off but he could read right through her. She glowered at him in horror when he mentioned David Jacobs and his little brother being shipped off to the refuge. Her affection for these boys was deeper than he thought it seemed. Joe decided he didn’t need those boys influence on his daughter any further. She was smart and rebellious enough, and these boys would turn her into a criminal. He would find a way to be rid of these boys once and for all.  
In the beginning, the newspaper price and bringing down the strike was all business. Now that the rats had gotten Katherine involved, and threatened to steal her away from him, it was personal. Jack Kelly was going to pay.


	3. Jack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not the best chapter I've written (Jack is so hard to write for me) but here it is. Please leave kudos and comment if you enjoyed it! Even if you didn't I'd love to hear your feedback

These last few days had not been good to Jack. Being beaten up, watching Crutchie being dragged away to the refuge and figuring out that the girl he was unfortunately falling in love with was the daughter of his sworn enemy. The last one took the prize for the worst thing to happen so far. His trust had been broken far too many times to count, and he was getting tired of it. She had tried to speak to him but he couldn’t meet her eyes. He couldn’t bear to see how much they resembled her fathers. Believe it or not, it only got worse from there. When the Spider came out of hiding, Jack forgot all about Katherine. His fear and panic overtook him and all he could think about was running (even though he promised himself no more).

Hours later, he sat himself up gruffly from the floor of the cellar (which reminded him too much of the Refuge) and stretched his limbs. It took everything in his power to not cry out at the sharp pain that went all through his body. The Delancies had roughed him up pretty bad, and he knew they’d come back if he was too loud. Jack hated this. He felt like an afraid child once more. 

He tried thinking of anything to keep his mind from going back to his days at the Refuge. First he thought of Crutchie. But thinking of Crutchie made him think of the Refuge so that was no good. He tried thinking about the other boys. Race and his attachment to cigars. Albert and his stupid smirk. Romeo and his constant flirting. Davey and his brains. Les and his neverending optimism. It worked for awhile until he remembered that he was going to have to betray those very boys. Betray them or condemn them. 

Eventually, he became worn out and settled in on top of the dusty old printing press that was kept in the cellar, sighing in frustration. He felt himself beginning to slip away to those memories from his past so he shifted his focus. He shifted his focus to a beautiful, witty, intelligent reporter who even after all the lies, held his heart in her hands. Although he’d never admit it, thinking of her is what kept him sane through the long, cold night.


End file.
